Belt-supporting wheel



June 14, 1960 H. B. HANSON 2,94

BELT-SUPPORTING WHEEL Filed July 6, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. iii/old .3. .Xanson ATTORNEYS June 14, 1960 H. B. HANSON 2,940,585

BELT-SUPPORTING WHEEL Filed July 6, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR. flare/a .8. fl'aason ATTORNEYS ijnited States Fatent i7 BELT-SUPPORTING WHEEL Harold B. Hanson, Oakland, Calif., assignor to Meat Packers Equipment Oakland, Calif., a corporation of California Filed July 6, 1959, Ser. No. 825,216

3 Claims. (Cl. 198-184) This invention relates in general to endless, flexible belt conveyors, and particularly to a novel supporting wheel for a run of the conveyor belt.

In a conveyor of the type described, particularly when of substantial length and width, the lower run of the belt tends to sag lengthwise, as well as to transversely bow downwardly; both of which occurrences are undesirable, and-if not preventedsometimes permit such run of the belt to strike, and be damaged by, parts of the conveyor frame. When the endless belt is wholly smooth or flat on the outer face, the problem can be readily solved by a common supporting roller journaled in a position to engage the under side of the lower run of said belt at a suitable point to preclude any such longitudinal sagging or downward transverse bowing.

However, when the endless belt is of the type which includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced, outwardly projecting, transverse cleats, such cleats depend from the lower run of the belt, and as a consequence a common supporting roller cannot be used, as such cleats would interfere.

It is therefor the major object of this invention to provide a novel belt-supporting wheel for the lower run of an endless cleated conveyor belt, and which wheel is designed to accommodate the downwardly extending cleats in a manner whereby the cleats engage, actuate, and run by the wheel, while the latter remains at all times in belt-supporting relation.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a beltsupporting Wheel which is designed for relative ease and economy of manufacture, and installation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a practical, reliable, and durable belt-supporting wheel, and one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an endless belt conveyor embodying the novel belt-supporting wheel; the near shaftrnounting standard being partly broken away to show said wheel, and the latter being in its normal position; i.e., when not engaged by a depending cleat of the lower run of said belt.

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are enlarged fragmentary side elevations showing progressive positions of the beltsupporting wheel as the same is engaged and rotated by a passing cleat.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional elevation taken on line 55 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, the novel belt-supporting wheel, as hereinafter described, is used in connection with an endless flexible belt conveyor comprised of an elongated frame, indicated generally at 1. Such frame 1, which is of open or skeleton construction,

2 includes end or corner legs 2, upper side beams 3, and lower side beams 4.

The endless belt of the conveyor is indicated generally at 5, and such belt includes an upper run 6 and a lower run 7; such belt being trained, at its ends, about transverse-axis drums, indicated at 8 and 9, which drums are suitably journaled on the frame 1.

The drum 8 is driven from an electric motor unit 10 by means of an endless belt and pulley unit 11; the direction of drive being such that the upper run 6 and the lower run 7 of the belt 5 travel in the directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1.

The upper run 6 of the endless belt '5 travels on a fiat, 4

longitudinal bed plate 12 included in the frame 1; such bed plate maintaining the upper run against any possibility of sagging or bowing.

The endless belt '5 is fitted with a multiplicity of longitudinally spaced, outwardly projecting, substantially fullwidth cleats 13, which cleats serve to convey material or objects placed upon the upper run 6 of belt 5.

In order to prevent the lower run 7 of belt 5 from sagging lengthwise and transversely bowing downwardly, a belt-supporting wheel, indicated generally at 14, is mounted in connection with the frame 1 and cooperates with the under side of said run 7 intermediate the ends of the conveyor and substantially centrally between the sides of such run. The belt-supporting wheel 14 is constructed and mounted as follows:

Transversely alined standards 15 extend between the upper side beams 3 and corresponding lower side beams is secured to, such standards; such cross shaft rotatably supporting the wheel 14. Said wheel 14 includes a hub 17 journaled on crossshaft 16, and maintained against displacement axially of said cross shaft 16 by retention collars 18.

A plurality of spokes 19 are formed integral with, and radiate from, the hub 17 in equally circumferentially spaced relation. Each such spoke 19 is fitted, at its outer end, with a laterally projecting spindle 20; such spindles all projecting in the same direction, and being parallel to cross shaft 16. The spindles 20 are provided, at their inner ends, with reduced-diameter necks 21 threaded into suitable bores in the spokes 19.

The spindles 20 are provided-with rollers, indicated generally at 22, and which rollers are more particularly identified-in counter-clockwise sequenceas A, B, C, D, E, and F.

The rollers 22 are of such diameter that they extend beyond the outer ends of the spokes 19, and such rollers are maintained on the spindles 20 by washers 23 and cotter keys 24. Also, the diameter of the rollers is substantially equal to the height of the cleats 13, so that when a cleat initially engages a roller which is in a belt supporting position, as would naturally be the case, such engagement takes place at the center of the roller where the wheel rotating action is the most effective, as shown in Fig. 2, and without any tendency for the cleat to then climb up the roller. Such effective engagement continues at least until the following roller has moved into a belt supporting position, as shown in Fig. 2. Then, as the cleat relatively rides upon the roller as said cleat con tinues to move ahead, it still exerts a rotative action on the wheel with a downward pressure, to further rotate said wheel until the cleat finally leaves the roller, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig, 4. At the same time of course, the cleat-engaged roller is being rotatedby the cleat, so that friction is reduced to a In the operation of the conveyor, therefore, the wheel 14 is normally disposed in the position shown in Fig. 1, and wherein two of the rollers 22 lie in the same horizontal plane in supporting relation to the lower run 7 of belt such two rollers, a s in Fig. I, being particularly turning on theirrespective spindles 20. However, as a cleat 13 approaches and engages the wheel 14 the following occurs: 7

As such cleat comes to bear against roller B; and continues to advance, the wheel 14 is started in rotation.

' relation to the lower run 7. See'Fig. 3, and wherein the cleat occupies a position in the wheel notch 25 defined between said rollers B and C and the corresponding 7 spokes 19.

'Withfurther advance of the cleat, and continuance of wheel rotation, roller B drops away from lower run 7 until the cleat escapes said roller B and moves away from the whe el, and at the same time roller D moves upward into engagement with said lower run; the rollers C and D then-under the belt weight-assumingaposition in the same horizontal plane and in supporting relation to's'uch lower run. See Fig, 4 7

Thus, not only does the described wheel accommodate each'cleat and permit it to pass without obstruction, but the lower run 7 is 'efiectively supported at all times against longitudinal sagging and transverse bowing downwardly. Even during the time that a cleat ispassing the wheel,

and rotating the latter as described, at least one roller is always in a position supporting said lower run 7. In the event that the belt is quitewide, two or more of a the belt-supporting wheels 14 may be employed on the 7 cross shaft 16 in axially spaced relation.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as will substantially fulfill the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations'therefrom may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims. Q

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

1. A supporting wheel for the lower run of a belt having depending cleats thereon, said wheel comprising a a plurality of circumferentially spaced spokes, means jour- 15' naling the wheel for free rotation about an axis transversely of the belt, and belt engaging rollers turnably mounted on and projecting laterally from the outer ends of the spokes; the width of the spokes being materially less than the diameter of the rollers and the spacinglbetween adjacent rollers being greater than the width of a cleat.

2. A structure, as in claim 1, in which the diameter of the rollers is substantially the same as the height of a cleat. l t a 3. A structure, as in claim 1, in which the size of the rollers relative to the height ofa cleat and the circumferential spacing of the rollers is such that when a cleat is riding on top of a roller subsequent to a cleat-actuated wheel-rotating action, the adjacent trailing roller only is in a belt supporting position in a plane ahead of that of the aris of the wheel. 7 l 7 References Cited in the' file of this patent 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 

